By Mumini AbdulKareem
Barring any last minute change of decision, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has concluded plans to weed out substantial number of his present commissioners and other appointees in the coming weeks in a major impending cabinet reshuffle, National Pilot gathered last night.
The mass sweep, according to an insider who spoke with this medium on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue is coming on the heels of disappointment of the Governor with the performances of most of the commissioners and aides most of whom are first timers in governance.
The government has faced a lot of backlash recently over the performance of some of his appointees some of whom have engaged in public altercation over official matters of the state.
Last month, the former commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who was later redeployed to the Ministry of Special Duties, Hajia Aisha Ahman-Pategi resigned from cabinet over alleged misappropriation of N300m local government funds she levelled against her counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Mrs Florence Oyeyemi Olasunbo.
According to the source, “There is going to be a cabinet reshuffle in the next one or two weeks, that I can tell you and the reason is that the governor is not impressed with the performances of many of them.
“A lot of them are going to be dropped. The Governor has made up his mind on this decision and majority of the present commissioners and appointees will be affected. The Governor believes that substantial numbers of them are just making their time in the cabinet and not really doing anything. A lot of them will be swept away”, the source added.
Before now, there has been strong indication of an imminent reshufflement of the cabinet in response to recent high profile resignations that has hit the executive.
This is even as the Governor is yet to replace his late Chief of Staff, Dr Aminu Adisa Logun who died in June as a result of complications from the Covid-19 disease at the age of 71.
Other sources and insiders who have spoken on the development confirmed to this medium that the Governor is on the verge of carrying out a cabinet reshuffle following the recent development.
It was gathered even before the impending mass sweep; many other appointees who are dissatisfied with the state of things in the administration but have been hanging on are on the verge of turning in their resignation any moment from now.
According to a top source who craved anonymity on the issue, “After the minor cabinet reshuffle which was carried out when the issue of the two commissioners first occurred that affected about four ministries, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq will any time from now embark on another exercise to respond to the latest developments in the cabinet.
“We are approaching a crucial period in the life of the administration and coupled with the pandemic, there are lots of grounds to cover and the governor is very much aware of this but the reality is that people will have to go”, he added.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Commissioner for communication, Mrs Harriet Adenike Afolabi-Oshatimehin was not successful last night as several calls put across to her were not answered.
In July, the Governor at the height of squabble between Aisha and Olasumbo announced a minor cabinet reshuffle involving five commissioners who were swapped from one ministry to the other.
A statement then by the government said those affected are the Commissioner for Communication, Olanrewaju Murtala who was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, while the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Harriet Oshatimehin replaced Mr Murtala in the Ministry of Communication.
Commissioner for Environment, Aliyu Saifudeen, was moved to the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development to replace Aisha who later dumped the cabinet following her redeployment to the Ministry of Special Duties.
Commissioner for Special Duties, Funke Juliana Oyedun, was drafted to the Ministry of Environment.
